Planning, Task Structure and Task Difficulty

CRELLAUniversity of Bedfordshire May 2012

Parvaneh Tavakoli

Effects of Task Design on Native and Non-native Task Performance

BackgroundTasks as units of Teaching and Testing

Task Design in Language TeachingSequencing and syllabus designCognitive processes and SLAL2 developmental processes

Task Design in Language TestingAre language testing tasks of equal difficulty (Pollitt, 1991)Defining task difficulty remains a challenge (Iwashita, et al, 2001)A hierarchy of task difficulty yet to be established (Bachman, 2002)

What can task difficulty help with?Selecting & categorizing tasks for test purposesProviding a more reliable assessmentImproving the validity of the interpretations and uses made on test resultsInvestigating Task DesignStudy 1: Effects of degree of task structure on L2 spoken performanceStudy 2: Effects of storyline complexity and structure on L2 & L1 spoken performanceStudy 3: Effects of storyline complexity on L2 written performance (work in progress)

Study 1: Effects of Task StructureTask structure & Planning Conditions6 oral narrative tasks (picture stories) were used with 80 Iranian EFL learners under testing conditionsDegree of task structure was operationalized through tightness of the structure presented in the picture storiesStructure was defined based on knowledge structures (Mohan, 1991; Hoey, 1983)Tight structure (fixed sequence of events)Loose structure (arbitrary sequence of events)Findings: Task structure proved to have an impact on L2 performance: the more structured tasks elicited more accurate and more fluent languageThere was no systematic impact on syntactic complexity or lexical diversityPlanning improved performance in all different measures across the two LP levels

Study 2: Research FocusStoryline Complexityforeground only (simple)foreground and background (complex)Structureloose structuretight structureContext of language learninglearning English in Tehranlearning English in LondonNative speakers & L2 learners

Study 2: Research Design

(Main) Research QuestionsDoes task design have an impact on L2 learners performance?Accuracy, fluency, syntactic complexity, lexical diversityDoes task design have an impact on native speakers performance?Fluency, syntactic complexity & lexical diversityStudy 2: Different Phases of the ResearchStudy 2: Methods Independednt variablesstructure: within-participantstoryline complexity: between-participantNarrativesOral narratives typically used in EFL settingsThey are popular in language testing, e.g. previously used by ETS; currently used by different local, national and international institutionsSettingin one-to-one sessions with the researcher

ParticipantsTehran60 female Iranian L2 learners of English in a language school in Tehran aged between 18-34; Intermediate level (B1-B2) London 40 male/female L2 learners of English in a college in London aged between 19 and 47, different L1s, Intermediate level (B1-B2)London 40 male/female native speakers of English first year undergraduate students of English program/psychology in a university in London aged between 19 and 60Procedures & MeasuresData transcribed and codedTask accomplishmentFluencyrepair, speed and breakdown fluencyMid-clause vs end-clause pausesSyntactic complexitysubordination and MLUAccuracypercentage of error-free clausesLexical Diversitycorrected measure of D calculated by vocd qualitative analysis of lexical selectionA range of statistical analysesFactor analysis, MANOVAs, ANOVAs, T-tests

Findings: Impact of Task Design on L2 & L1 PerformanceA complex storyline encourages L2 performance of more syntactic complexity

L2 learners both in Tehran and in LondonIt affects native speakers performance

Presence of structure encourages L2 performance of higher accuracy and fluency

L2 learners both in Tehran and in LondonIt doesnt affect native speakers performance

Patterns of syntactic complexity across tasks and groupsMeans of subordination in native speakers performancePicnic vs. Football 1.71 vs. 1.50 F=2.56, p